Office of the Fire Chief

Scott Goldstein, Fire Chief

240-777-2486
fire.chief@montgomerycountymd.gov

The Fire Chief is responsible for MCFRS as a whole. Specific programs in the Office of the Fire Chief are:

Biography

The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) is led by Fire Chief Scott E. Goldstein. Chief Goldstein is the County’s fourth appointed fire chief since enabling legislation was enacted in 2004. Chief Goldstein was nominated by County Executive Leggett on May 14, 2015 and later confirmed by County Council on June 16, 2015. At the time of his appointment, he was serving as the acting fire chief, a position he held since January 1, 2015.

Chief Goldstein commands a staff of approximately 2,700 civilian, sworn, and volunteer personnel with an infrastructure that includes thirty-seven fire and rescue stations. Our large, metropolitan organization serves and protects over one million residents across five hundred square miles. Annually, the MCFRS responds to over 120,000 calls and operates with an annual budget in excess of $230 million. Chief Goldstein is responsible for the overall operation, direction, vision, and leadership of the MCFRS.

Prior to his appointment, Chief Goldstein served as the Division Chief of Operations where he was responsible for the oversight of field operations, fleet services, fire and rescue functions at the Emergency Communications Center (ECC), Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and special operations. He assumed this position in May 2013.

Prior to his appointment as Division Chief, Chief Goldstein served as the Assistant Chief of Special Operations. In this capacity, he oversaw all in-county responses to hazardous materials, technical rescue (rope, structural collapse, and trench), water rescue, and explosive device events. He additionally provided contributory support to our region’s interoperability radio cache, our County’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), and planning and logistical initiatives associated with large-scale, in-county and regional events.

Chief Goldstein is an active member of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) Fire Chiefs Committee and has served on multiple, related subcommittees in the public safety arena. He also served as the co-chair of the Law Enforcement and EMS Workgroup which developed a model policy governing integrated operations of law enforcement and fire and rescue personnel during responses to law enforcement incidents.

Earlier in his career, he served in field operations where he accepted appointments as a firefighter rescuer through the rank of battalion chief. For several years, he also served as a deputy safety officer and the Executive Officer to the Chief of Operations. Beginning in 1990, he served as a logistics specialist, manager, and assistant task force leader for Maryland Task Force 1, one of twenty-eight urban search and rescue teams commissioned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Chief Goldstein’s educational accomplishments include a Bachelor’s Degree in Fire Science from the University of Maryland as well as a Masters Degree in Homeland Security from the Naval Post Graduate School.

Chief Goldstein’s career in the fire and rescue service is rooted in Montgomery County where as a teenager he first began serving as a volunteer fire fighter rescuer. He is extremely honored to accept the reins of a proud organization whose sustained performance has earned the appreciation of our community as well as international accreditation. He and his wife Heidi have been married for fifteen years and are the proud parents of two young boys, Wyatt and Logan.